Bloody St Catherine - Five killed, two injured in 24 hours

The scene of a triple murder just off the Thompson Pen main road in Spanish Town, St Catherine, on Sunday.

Amid a 40 per cent increase in murders in the St Catherine North Police Division and with no end in sight to the bloodletting that is responsible for 30 persons being killed since January 1, the division's top cop, Beau Rigabie, is adamant that the situation will be brought under control.

"Blame for this unwanted increase must be placed squarely on rival factions of the notorious Clansman Gang, who are embroiled in an ongoing feud for turf," Rigabie said.

His assessment comes after four persons were shot dead and two others, including a 10 year-old-boy, injured in multiple incidents between Sunday night and Monday morning in Spanish Town and Linstead.

"There has been a roughly 40 per cent increase in murders in the St Catherine North Division since the start of the year, with 30 people murdered. That is the gravity of the situation and the police will give no grounds to these thugs as we go after them," assured Rigabie.

Rigabie also hinted at the possible involvement in the ongoing strife by Clansman Gang's reputed leader Tesha Miller, who he said is still able to direct affairs of the now splintering machinery.

The Clansman Gang has reportedly been responsible for many deaths and an ultra-profitable extortion racket targeting businesses in Spanish Town and its environs for well over a decade.

HAVE SOME LEADS

Rigabie said that Sunday night's bloodbath at a birthday party at premises along the Thompson Pen main road, in which three people were killed, could also be associated with the ongoing turf war. One man was shot and injured in a separate attack in Spanish Town minutes before the three were killed.

"We are still early in relation to investigations into that particular incident, but we have some leads that we are chasing that are looking at this as a possibility," said Rigabie.

Reports are that approximately 8:10 p.m., two men walked up to the group and opened fire. Two of the men were killed on the spot, while one other was pronounced dead at hospital.

One of the three has been identified as 28-year-old AndrÈ Cephas. The 10-year-old boy is said to be in stable condition in hospital, having been shot in the back.

In Linstead, a bus driver was gunned down at the transportation centre early yesterday morning.

Elsewhere in the parish, the police reported that another man was killed in Hellshire.